Rekha, Sachin Tendulkar and Anu Aga to grace Rajya Sabha

NEW DELHI: Master Blaster Sachin Tendulkar shall begin a fresh innings, though not in cricket but in politics as a nominated member of the Rajya Sabha. The President nominated the batting legend, along with film actress Rekha and businesswoman and social worker Anu Aga, to the upper House on Thursday.

The news of Tendulkar's new role as a nominated Rajya Sabha MP was greeted with much cheer by the politicos as well as cricket bodies like BCCI. While Congress welcomed the move, saying that his nomination would give a lot of support to sports, BJP said the nation was proud of Sachin. "If Sachin is being nominated, surely he would devote some time to Parliament," said BJP leader Ravi Shankar Prasad.

However, the best welcome note to Sachin, who recently scored his hundredth international century, came from another nominated Rajya Sabha member Ashok Ganguly. According to a tweet by Trinamool MP Derek O'Brien, Ganguly, who currently occupies seat number 100 in the Rajya Sabha, had offered to vacate it for Sachin and move to the next seat.

The 39-year-old cricket legend, who has brought many a laurel to the country through his exploits in the game, is the first 'active' sportsperson to be nominated to the august House. Article 80 of the Constitution provides for nomination of persons having special knowledge or practical experience in matters such as literature, science, art and social service.

The 57-year-old Rekha is one of the top actresses of Bollywood who has successfully straddled the gap between commercial pot-boilers and parallel cinema. She has won the national award for her role in Umrao Jaan and was conferred the Padma Shri in 2010.

Anu Aga, a frontline industrialist who was at the helm of Thermax until she retired in 2004, is now a full-time social worker. She was awarded the Padma Shri in 2010. She is currently chairperson of Teach for India. Her impassioned speech on the suffering of Muslims in Gujarat had received a standing ovation at a CII national meet held a couple of months after the riots.